Trainee management accountant

Band 5 · Management accountant · 367 job evaluation points

Trainee management accountants, sometimes called finance analysts, produce budget reports and analysis for a set of budget holders while working towards a recognised accountancy qualification.

Responsibilities

Prepare monthly budget reports for a group of budget holders and explain the main variances.
Post month-end journals, accruals, and corrections to make sure reports are accurate.
Check that spending is coded correctly between cost centres, projects, and capital and revenue.
Collect forecast information and update forecasts with budget holders.
Build cost information for business cases under guidance.
Work towards a recognised accountancy qualification.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Management accountingThis reference	Working (2)	You can: prepare monthly budget reports and explain the main variances code costs correctly between cost centres, projects, and capital and revenue support budget holders to understand and manage their budgets
Financial planning and forecastingThis reference	Working (2)	You can: build budgets and forecasts for a cost centre or project, including staff costs update forecasts each month with known changes and risks phase budgets so that spending profiles match delivery plans
Business cases and investment appraisalThis reference	Awareness (1)	You can: explain the purpose of a business case and its financial section collect cost information for a business case
Public sector financeThis reference	Working (2)	You can: apply the organisation's capital and revenue rules to everyday spending explain how funding allocations and spending limits affect your area recognise spending that needs approval from a funder or spending control
Finance systemsThis reference	Working (2)	You can: use spreadsheets well, including formulas, lookups, and pivot tables maintain finance system data, such as cost centres, suppliers, and approvers report and help fix system problems
Financial transactions and ledgersThis reference	Working (2)	You can: process a range of transactions, including credit notes, refunds, and journals reconcile supplier statements, bank accounts, and control accounts resolve routine queries from suppliers, customers, and budget holders spot duplicate, unusual, or unauthorised transactions and raise them
Financial managementUK GDaD PCF	Awareness (1)	You can: understand the financial impact of the work you do and how cost and budgets are created
Communicating informationUK GDaD PCF	Working (2)	You can: listen to the needs of design and business stakeholders and interpret information take part in discussions within a multidisciplinary team be an advocate for the team externally, and can manage differing perspectives shape and share communications relevant to the audience
Understanding health and care servicesThis reference	Awareness (1)	You can: describe the main parts of the health and care system and the services the organisation supports explain why patient safety and confidentiality matter in your work

Typical qualifications and experience

A degree or intermediate accounting qualification, and working towards a recognised accountancy qualification, or equivalent experience.

Band 5 outline

Knowledge: Professional or technical knowledge, typically from a degree or equivalent experience.
Autonomy: Works to broad objectives within professional standards; plans own work.
Scope: Own professional work within a team or product.
Leadership: May guide and check the work of support staff and apprentices.
Accountability: Quality of own professional work.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	4	Gives complex, sensitive, or contentious information needing persuasion, negotiation, or training skills, or highly complex information.	32
Knowledge, training, and experience	5	Expertise in a specialism, underpinned by theory or practical experience (degree level or equivalent).	120
Analytical and judgemental skills	3	Judgements on a range of facts or situations needing analysis or comparison of options.	27
Planning and organisational skills	2	Plans straightforward tasks or activities, some ongoing.	15
Physical skills	3	Developed skills needing speed or accuracy, such as advanced keyboard use.	27
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	3	Implements policies for own area and proposes changes that affect other areas.	21
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	3	Authorises payments, buys some assets or supplies, monitors or holds a delegated budget, or maintains assets.	21
Responsibility for people	2	Supervises or coordinates staff day to day, trains others regularly, or gives basic HR advice.	12
Responsibility for information resources	4	Adapts or designs information systems to others' specifications, or runs information systems for a department as the main duty.	24
Responsibility for research and development	2	Regularly does research, development, trials, or equipment and system testing as part of the job.	12
Freedom to act	3	Follows defined policies and procedures; work is managed rather than supervised.	21
Physical effort	2	Frequent sitting or standing in a restricted position, or occasional light to moderate effort.	7
Mental effort	3	Frequent concentration on unpredictable work, or occasional prolonged concentration.	12
Emotional effort	1	Rare exposure, or occasional indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	5
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 5: 326 to 395)			367

Knowledge is scored at the level the job needs once training is far enough along to do the work. Financial resources is level 3 for monitoring delegated budgets.